Computers are often linked together through networks to allow the resources of a computer at one location to be used by a computer and end user at another location. In a distributed environment, computers known as servers perform various tasks for client computers that communicate with the server over a network. The server enables sharing of files and other resources between client computers and the server, such as electronic mail. As an example, a world wide web (“web”) server may provide resources to client computers over the Internet.
It is often necessary to manage activities of a computer or determine the relative health of a computer system by viewing screen display information and/or interacting with the computer through user input devices. This is especially true for servers whose resources are utilized by many individual client computers, such as within a corporate network or the Internet. For many conventional systems, the technician or other user who needs to view the screen displays and interact with the computer being managed is required to be physically located at the site of the computer. However, it is not always feasible for a technician or other user to be physically present.
Present solutions to providing remote management are a service under the operating system or a software application such as PC ANYWHERE from SYMANTEC CORPORATION. However, because these present solutions are software based, the operating system must be operational with all services loaded to allow the remote monitoring to occur. Therefore, configuration and boot-up screens such as those provided by a BIOS are not made available to the remote location. For this reason, utilization of a hardware-based device is desirable. Because applications of a hardware-based remote management device may require frequent transport by a technician who will install the device for troubleshooting purposes or shipment of the device to a location for connection to a local computer, it is also desirable to minimize the device footprint to provide a device that is portable and unobtrusive.
A problem with minimizing the footprint of a device containing electrical components involves the issue of heat dissipation. Electrical components generate heat. When heat-generating components are mounted closely together on a circuit board or a plurality of circuit boards, and then encased by a housing, a risk of operational failure due to excessive heat generation is created. It is with respect to these considerations and others that the present invention has been made.